NEWS

John Rich stalking suspect accused of ‘playing games’

Brian Haas
bhaas@tennessean.com

A judge warned a man accused of stalking country star John Rich to stop “playing games” with the court or end up behind bars.

It could have been worse Wednesday morning for Mark “Chris” Sevier, who faces two counts of aggravated stalking and one count of criminal impersonation. Assistant District Attorney Tammy Meade had asked for Sevier’s bond to be revoked, meaning he would have been in jail until his Oct. 6 trial.

Sevier is accused of stalking and harassing Rich, as well as with a 17-year-old girl at a Nashville coffee shop.

At a hearing Wednesday morning, Meade accused him of toying with the court, which had ordered him to provide 24-hour notice and a full itinerary before he left Alabama, where he was living. Meade said that in April, Sevier emailed court officials just before midnight on a Friday that he was “moving” to New York that weekend. Later emails said he might also spend time in Los Angeles or Washington, D.C., but didn’t provide details.

“This is playing games with the court order, seeing how far he can push it,” Meade said.

Sevier’s attorney, Peter Strianse, said he didn’t think his client made any “willful violation” of the court order. He said Sevier is staying in a condo in New York.

Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn wasn’t convinced, but stopped short of revoking Sevier’s bond. Instead, he ordered Sevier to provide more details about his comings and goings, including flight information and addresses where he would be staying. He also warned Sevier to drop “snide remarks” from his communications with the court.

Sevier also pleaded not guilty at Wednesday’s hearing, and a trial date was set for Oct. 6. In the interim, Fishburn said, Sevier can’t even be in the same state as Rich, who plans to be in New York next week.

Reach Brian Haas at 615-726-8968.